There's plenty of excitement around the 4th December arrival of Xenoblade ChroniclesX, though fans in North America have been wondering if they'd get the same treatment as European gamers. EU Wii U owners, for example, have a handsome special edition on the way, and the onus has been on Nintendo of America to offer something equally attractive.

It seems to have succeeded, too. Arriving alongside the standard edition but with a recommended price of $89.99, North America will receive a unique special edition. Details are below.

Includes:

The Xenoblade Chronicles X game

A gorgeous book of concept art with more than 100 pages, featuring select art for the very first time

A unique USB drive modeled after the game's "Lifehold Unit," pre-loaded with a selection of 10 music tracks from the game's memorable soundtrack

A limited-edition matted 5x7 art card of a painting done for the game by illustrator Takashi Kojo

It should be up for pre-order now from some retailers, so it may be wise to move fast.

Where's the map? That was the one thing I really really wanted. Not sure if the rest is worth the extra $30 for me. It should at least include some in game content like a multi player mission or in game currency or domething.

Thanks to the guy above I'll go order it, Amazon doesn't charge until they ship, and they'll lower the price if applicable or add in anything else that may pop up.

OK, pre-ordered, but not sure I can go thru with buying 1 video game for $97. 75, NY tax gets this a little to close to $100 for my liking. Would make a good Christmas gift under the tree though. Guess we'll see.

Does this include Canada or is it just for the US? Not seeing it on amazon.ca. I would really love to get this, but if this turns out to be like the Majora's Mask 3D special edition, I would like to get my order in sooner than later.

@PanurgeJr Yeah even conservatively speaking it's good value, as videogames generally are. People are weird about paying more than a particular amount (in this case the standard $60 MSRP), but nowadays games have gotten cheaper and the play lengths are longer.

Not that I like paying more money than I have to, but honestly I think some games sell for too little, considering what it costs to make them in recent years and how much you can get out of them.

@blackice85 I think you read me wrong, the game itself will be worth $60 to me, I'm sure of that. The question is - is it worth an extra $30 to get a 5x7 postcard I'll toss in a drawer, a USB drive I'll never use with music I'll never listen to and a book I'll look at maybe once. I do think the book is worth $10 or $15, just not sure I think the thumb drive and postcard are worth $15 as well. I'd be OK w/ $74.99, or $90 if it had that map. I really really WA the that map, I think right now I'm too upset we aren't getting good it. Or a case. Shouldn't a $90 game be in a metal box?

@rjejr Ah sorry. Yeah I'm not too into the USB thing, the card is nice but not worth that much to me, but I do like artbooks and have paid a lot more than 30 for some. So in your case no it's probably not worth it, but it is for me.

@LordofMentos The name change doesn't make any damn sense in the first place, they purposely use an English word, so we decide to use a made up word instead? I'm getting the game either way, but I hope to God the script isn't butchered too badly.

That's pretty cool, ESPECIALLY considering this is NoA we're talking about. A tad too expensive for me though, especially if that artbook isn't hardcover. If I were to pay more than $70 for an LE, I'll be saving my money for Neptunia VII's LE which will likely be $75.Still interested in the game though. Will likely wait for it to be on sale, since I have other games on priority.

Surely a good value when you consider the number of hours we'll get out of it, but I just can't pull the trigger on this. I'll stick with the regular edition. I've been waffling on the LE Rise of the Tomb Raider, and if I can't decide on that, I won't go with this, either.

Then again you did really love Xenoblade... a LOT, so I guess it's not too surprising.

I got my 2 copies of the Collector Edition preordered, but will cancel one if I can score at BestBuy for 20% off.

***Btw, I heard Reggie skimped you out of a map just to piss you off. That SOB... The nerve! You should write him a letter and tell him exactly how you feel, and exactly what you do to CEO's that don't include maps with their Collector Editions

I'd love to preorder from Amazon, but I don't have money. Additionally, I have a gamestop pre-order already paid in full. So I think I'm just going to wait to see if Gamestop gets the limited edition for pre-order, I should know by tomorrow or monday. If it does then I'll just switch my order over to the LE and make small payments up to release. Otherwise, I'll just cancel at GS and pick it up on Amazon. Looks like Amazon is the only retailer who has it right now.

Looks wonderful. I'm considering going digital on this one. The outline of the Nintendo account system should be in effect by December, and I'm expecting some type of big overhaul...as in digital purchases will carry over to the next device, i.e. NX. And for the collectors edition going almost 100 dollars is nothing. Considering the amount of work put into these games, that should be a standard price considering prices haven't gone up the last 20 or so years.

@JacketsNest101They don't charge until it ships. I'd recommend locking in a preorder now while it's available because I can tell you right now this thing is going to sell out super fast. You can always cancel later, but once it sells out you won't be able to order later.

I already blew my savings on the Wooly World bundle (preorders just went live yesterday for it here where I live), so no limited edition for me, even though I really like that USB... Plus, I reserved the normal edition and and already put up some money for it.

Eh...concept art and music that'll be all over Youtube (or IS all over Youtube), and an art thing... I think I'll save my $ for StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void Collector's Edition. Lorebooks > concept art.

personally I liked the euro version more myself... but I guess the people at NOA are collectors at heart.. I'm with @rjejr... don't care much for the card and artbook is kool and I guess I'll use the usb.. but the map would have been helpful for playing the actual game.. but hey what do I know..

Either way I hope moving forward nintendo can maybe bring some equity with their offerings because i'm getting a little frustrated with the major differneces in releases between games lately...

@JacketsNest101 as already stated, you best lock in an order now, this could sell out ridiculously quick. I'm talking "this minute do it or you may regret it" quick, Nintendo hasn't had a good grasp on supply recently. You have several months to decide to cancel but every minute of hesitation counts with these things.

@arrmixerWell, The other side of that coin is maybe Europeans shouldn't be playing Yoshi yet. I think there's real differences in demographic between continents, which explains the separate divisions in Nintendo. Each one tries to make decisions for their own region and what lineup works best for them in what order.

But it's tit for tat- ya we don't have Yoshi, but they waited forever for Kirby, and Etrian Oddyssey, and half the other 3DS games came late for them. But, I'm with you when it comes to equality for collector editions. I was pretty bummed when I found out we're the largest gaming market in the world. Yet the only region not getting a physical release of Fatal Frame. And we missed the Bayonetta 2 LE. Among many others...

@ShadJV Well, I do technically have the money right now. You guys have convinced me, I just pre-ordered it. They better not charge until it ships, because if they charge me then I will be cancelling my Gamestop preorder, although I may just do that anyway to cover costs here.

If it actually is $100-$120 CAD I'm just getting the digital game and I'll buy the USB separately as that is like a must have for me seeing as I have like 6 USB sticks and still wanting another one or two. Don't really care that it's only 10 songs that are included as I've already been listening to the entire soundtrack on my phone for several months now.

@rjejrLooks like nice HD scans of XCX map are online and I'm assuming the non-Japanese maps will be too. You can just load them into a nice image viewer on an iPad and use that as your map. Zoom in and out as you please. Not quite the same fun as hardcopy but potentially more practical.

It's been a long time since a collector's edition has even caught my eye really.

The art book and art card feature such classy artwork, but the game case and box make Xenoblade Chronicles X look like just any old run-of-the-mill robot action game. That art card should be the cover image for the game, like how the old Konami NES games featured painted cover art.

Wow, this edition looks fantastic, and even better than the Europe version. I'd love to have that USB with some music on it and that artbook is awesome. Europe is getting an artbook but I doubt it's 100 pages.

Still hopefully I can get the Europe edition when it goes up before its sold out.

Whaaaaat??? This looks WAY Better than the Xenoblade X Wii U Box set I bought. Seriously... even if it's not a full soundtrack it's AWESOME, and my art book only has like... 20 pages. I'm kinda tempted to buy this even though I can't actually use it...

This is pretty worth it, but I'm a little bothered that it's only ten tracks off of the OST. Oh, well, it is what it is. Just wish it were at least twenty tracks. I get that they'll want to do a full soundtrack release with all 100+ tracks (didn't they confirm that number?) and so I understand the limitation. If only it were slightly less limited.

But hey, the flash drive itself is cool enough. They might as well have not mentioned the teeny handful of songs and left that a surprise all its own.

@rjejr A 100 page art book, a flash drive with 10 songs and a lithograph. Those alone would retail an extra $50. Just get it. $89 is nothing compared to the obscene price of that stupid Juggernog edition of Black Ops III.

@JaxonH You seem to have an ear to the ground for this stuff, and there is no PM option I can find, could you please mention me or shoot me an email it these become available again for preorder on any site? I am so excited for this game and am a little crushed I missed the preorder.

come on really, this article was posted barely 13 hours ago and it's already sold out. They couldn't even print enough special editions to last 24 hours. Hopefully they put more up, or gamestop gets some available but would it kill nintendo do a modicum of market research?

Woe is me. I unfortunately didn't bother to check NintendoLife at around 9 o'clock last night so I missed my best chance at preordering this great looking collection. I can only hope that it becomes available again soon at either Amazon or Gamestop. I'd love to have that USB drive and 100 page artbook.

@MailOrderNinjaYa I'll do my best. This is just one retailer so there are plenty more to score one from.

Judging by how long this one lasted, you should have a good chance of getting one with at least one other retailer. I'm shooting for BestBuy so I can cancel with Amazon since the GCU discount would make it $72. So if I see it go up I'll try to remember to @ you.

@blackice85 "So in your case no it's probably not worth it, but it is for me."

Yeah, I probably should have been more postive about this yesterday. It's a nice set, and I still may get it even at that price, so I'm glad NOA finally did something - Yoshi Wooly World is out in 6 weeks but damned if anybody in NA is allowed to know about it - but again I was so happy to see NOA was getting a special edition but it lacks that stupid map.

I suppose in fairness the map is so big it only fit in the Wii U box bundle, not a game bundle. Only just figured that out now though. My mistake.

@aaronsullivan Yeah I don't really need the map, I just needed it more than a 5x7 postcard or a USB thumbdrive. I've never ever been a fan of any videogame music even though I have about a half dozen CDs of it, JRPGs like doing it. Case is nice, and the book. My wife is a production manager in book publishing and she says an 11x7 book like that is pretty nice so I'll probably get it.

@JaxonH What's the initials for making me laugh so hard I have tears running down my face? I ordered it for several reasons - 1. Amazon doesn't charge until it ships, so I have 3 months to change my mind. 2. Amazon occasionally adds in extra stuff for pre-order bonuses closer to the release date. 3. It would be a Christmas gift to me, and the bundle makes it look more like a gift than unwrapping just a game under the tree. If it came out in March or Oct I'd have to go just game. 4. And I have over $100 in Amazon credit from using their credit card, so I could technically get this w/o laying out any real money. I'd say I'm 60-40 keeping it. I'll keep you and Sin posted.

@sinalefa Oh man, never even thought of blaming Reggie for the map. Now that I've decided it's a console bundle only deal I guess I'l just have to thank Reggie that we're getting anything at all, as much as that kills me.

@Sir_JBizzle I actually just checked Amazon.UK to see if they had it. I think my earlier recognition stands though, the map came w/ the Wii U bundle and not the game. That being the case I'll probably pick this up. Unless I don't.

@burninmylight I wish I had more people talking sense into me, all my friends on here are going to cost me $30 as I bow to peer pressure I wind up buying it. Now that I just found out it sold out in 13 hours it would be hard for me to cancel my pre-order. Well unless they raise the price, drop the book, or delay it, I'm easily spooked.

@day I like to think of them more as conspiracy facts. Reggie hates his job, well at least his demotion 2 years ago, he probably enjoys getting paid to do nothing but run his mouth, and he hates Nintnedo fans constantly giving him a hard time, so he takes it out on us. It's the only thing that makes sense to me. It's kind of shocking we got this really, must have caught him on a good day. Or Japan overrode him as Nitneod tries to support Monolith Soft who they acquired 8 years ago. And it does make a mighty nice Christmas gift.

@kensredemption - Yeah, I think I've been talked into it. And it's not so much the value, which I agree is there, but how much I spend on videogames. I'm cheap. I usually only buy games used off Gamefly, or just rent them, or Target clearance for $4.98 or $14.98. Or $5 on PSN. So $100 - it's $97.75 w/ tax - is an OBSCENE amount of money for me to spend on 1 game. That's practically console territory in my mind, bought a PS3 last Christmas for $170 which included a complete $70 Disney Infinity 2.0 set. But I might just be able to let it slide as a Christmas gift from my wife, saves her the hassle of shopping. Probably means PS4 will have to wait though.

@rjejr
Dude don't question it. It's $30, not a brand new Ferrari. I know what would help you- you need to start displaying some of these things so that you get use out of them.

See me, I decided last night after ordering these that I wanted a small Xenoblade display to match my Fire Emblem and Monster Hunter displays. So I got 2 Xenobkade X CE's, will display the cel art and Artbook as well, went to eBay and bought original Xenoblade Art book, buying another Shulk Amiibo (Beyond my open set and sealed set Shulk), I bought the Xenoblade Cover Plates last night, a sealed copy of Xenoblade 3D, and I already have a sealed copy of Xenoblade Wii.

And all of that is going to make a small Xenoblade display, similar to what you see here

@rjejr I said that only as as joke, I never thought you'd take my suggestion seriously. Your reasons for choosing amazon are the exact same as mine. I always have credit to burn there, so I figured why not? You should keep it. So what are you going to do when you receive it? I imagine you wrapping it up, putting it under the tree and opening it with faux surprise on Christmas morning. Lol

@rjejr If I'm going to pay more for a game I want something physical not just in-game content. Besides, paying for in-game currency sounds a lot like Candy Crush and other iOS games. I think that kind of perk would be good as a free bonus for early adopters as it rewards the player but doesn't cost the company anything.

@rjejr Thanks for putting in some realism. The art book is pretty much the only thing I'm really interested in. I wouldn't use the rest.This special edition is neat, anyway. Even if I really wanted it, I'm already trying to figure out whether I should get Mario Maker, Star Fox, and Woolly World, or drop a game. I'm getting Xenoblade X for sure, though. Maybe I'll let go of Star Fox Zero. I never really played much besides Star Fox 64, anyway.

@Captain_Gonru Ah, I got ya. I didn't drink Folgers coffee for awhile for whatever reason was popular back in the 90's, and I don't eat veal, poor poor calfs, and I try my best to avoid Walmart. But I have to shop somewhere, ya know. All corporations suck, but I have to shop. Lots of people still buy iPhones but I think the suicide rate at Foxcon is probably worse than the heat exhaustion rate at Amazon. I like shopping at Amazon b/c they don't charge me until it ships, they've given me plenty of extras over the years - I somewhat take advantage of the politiness of their CRS people offering me compensation for slights, like at Target -, their credit card works well, and a free year of Prime right now and multiple free months in the past. I used to do most of my shopping at CompUSA and Circuit City but apparently I didn't shop enough. And it' sa good thing I'm not in Canada, I hit Target at least once, usually twice, a week.Going there after I fisih replyign to 32 more emails, everybody feels the need to reply to me. I think I'm a love him or that him kind of guy, to wordy to ignore. I need to probbaly stop replyign back to everybody adn stick w/ the half dozen or so like you I get along w/. All the old timers.

@aaronsullivan@Captain_Gonru Just got out of Target and despite a half page ad in yesterday's flyer the DI 3.0 stuff wasn't out yet, the woman who works there who I have a history with - mind out of the gutter - says they don't come out until Friday. She did look in the back and says there was a whole box full. I wasn't going to buy any, just wanted to check out the size of the display, which is currently jam filled w/ DI 2.0 figures and game boxes. Not even sure where they'll put the the 3.0 stuff, no room at all.

@Mikau94 - "I think that kind of perk would be good as a free bonus for early adopters as it rewards the player but doesn't cost the company anything."

Well I can always hope it gets added later. Seems like a bunch of games these days have pre-order bonuses, or store exclusive bonuses, along those lines. And as I mentioned earlier Amazon is usually pretty good about adding things on after you pre-order before any new announcements. Though I don't even know if there is money in this game or just resources, I do know we need something to buy our skell/doll. Getting 1 of those free to start the game would be nice.

@rjejr my target was way better off. Strolled in around 9:15 and got 6 DI figures at $10 each (2 for $20) the computer was only allowing the first 2 purchased to get the deal but my checkout person had already gone through it and just changed them all to $10 each. Actually she even changed the two that had the discount applied I noticed later. Have to find a way to clear that up somehow. Sort of afraid to do it officially and get things messed up though.

@sinalefa did you buy any DI 3.0 figures yet? That Target deal was nice for figures and the $20 for digital base game (no playsets) would give you a way to play with your previous purchases pretty cheap. I'd wait for sales on playsets though.

DL'd the free game on Wii U after setting up external HDD. Bought DI 2.0 w/ my PS3. Hooked up my PS3 base to Wii U, no problem there which was nice going across both hardware and generations. Bought Capt Jack Sparrow and Barbossa to play 2 player since you need figures from that play set for multiplayer. Tried to find the playset but couldn't. Turns out you need a little clear plastic piece to play the 3 playsets that came w/ the 1st game. Why? They were already in the game no? So I still haven't played any of the 3 "games" in the first game - Pirates, Incredibles, Monsters Inc - even after buying a base, 2 characters, and doing the 11GB download b/c I don't have that little piece. Which is why I haven't paid $20 for the DL, b/c w/ my luck I'll be missing something.

@aaronsullivan Know how I'm always saying how I want Captain Nemo and Dumbo and Bambi and Thumper and Jiminy Cricket as toys but you tell me I can't have them b/c nobody knows who they are and they won't sell?

@sinalefaJust an FYI, you can find those bases for pretty cheap in the aftermarket. They have been the same since 1.0. I forgot all about it until @rjejr mentioned it. Also, since you bought the Inside Out play set you'll have a proper game to play, too.

If you are interested in Clone Wars characters and play set, waiting is probably more cost effective as the base set went on sale quite a bit for the other versions. If not, I'd get an aftermarket base and the digital download on Wii U or PS3/PS4.

You are quite invested already, though. It's going to feel pretty valuable to be able to have fun with all those characters at least for a little while. Especially if you can play with a buddy in the Toy Box (online or local).

Oh, and until Sept. 20th or somewhere around there, they split all the Star Wars Rebels characters off as the exclusives. Sabine is Target's.

It's very temporary but kind of obnoxious to split up one tight group of characters like that. :/

@rjejr Those characters are from the quite excellent Star Wars Rebels TV show that runs on Disney XD.

It's a bit stilted at the beginning, but I look forward to every new episode now and there are so few shows I can enjoy with the kids. I'm into it. It takes place closer to the time of the original trilogy, so it's good for old folks like me. The art style is based on the Ralph McQuarrie concept art for the original movies which works most of the time.

It's promotion of the newer series and movies as usual.

Anyway, I'm really pleased to see them in there, myself, but I'd still buy that Captain Nemo and his Play Set if it existed.

Looks like they are setting up to do something in conjunction with Kingdom Hearts in the future which is very interesting for more classic character opportunities, actually. I wonder if they are going stronger with RPG elements in 4.0, too. Or it might just be token fan service. Thing is, there are no brand new Disney owned properties to exploit so whatever the plans are more classic Disney characters are bound to show up.

You can work hard to get Sabine now or wait about 20 days and she'll be everywhere. (Just looked it up again and it was hard for me to find but apparently September 20th is the day the six exclusive figures are available everywhere)

@aaronsullivan The first Kingdom Hearts games was great. Every shadowy villain figure in every game since then to this day I still refer to as "heartless". It was 1 of the first real time team party action JRPG games I ever played, and it had a good dose of Disney and Square. Much more Disney than DI has had if you ask me, though honestly all I remember is Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Tarzan. But it was a great game, like a 3D world Subspace Emissary.

So if they go that route, action based JRPG story driven game, I might have to buy it, especially if Sephiroth shows up. Playstation All Stars Battle Royale would have sold much better w/ Sep as the final boss, just for the music alone.

"aftermarket" I just found that word funny, but I don't buy pre-owned cars either.

@sinalefa My kids watch Pokemon, Dreamworks Dragons and way to much Youtube. Mostly Diamond Minecart, Chuggaconroy, Psyko and papaMMO all videogame people. 1 guy had over 100 15-20 minute episodes for Xenoblade Chronicles. My kids don't play videogames anymore, they just watch other people do it for them. It's like Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, right @Captain_Gonru

I think you should pick up a used, I mean aftermarket, DI base from eBay or Game or wherever for $7-$8 and then DL 3.0 for $20 on the console of your choice, it looks much better than the hub in 1 or 2. 2 was much better than 1.0, I spent many hours just building and decorating a house. Which sounds really stupid and makes me feel like my life is a waste, but it was fun. Maybe I'm the target market for Happy Home Designer?

@rjejrI've never played the Kingdom Hearts games. I've only looked on a bit as my younger brother is a big fan of them. I'm fascinated with it, just never dove in. The key is a big suggestion that something like that might be coming, but I'm still wondering what DI 4.0 is going to be. There are apparently several more Play Sets coming for DI 3.0, maybe they will stretch this one out more than a year. I doubt it, but there's also the issue of when that cut off from PS3/360/WiiU will happen. Eh... I don't think I can care this far ahead as a player. More like curious about their strategic planning.

I know it's big with Twitch and all that to watch video games and I get the fascination and drama of watching someone play, but it drives me nuts how my kids will watch people play video games. Thing is, I trained them. When they were younger "we" would play through Zelda and Metroid games. Which was mostly just me playing and them watching.

@WizardoUnfortunately it's not an extra. I am keeping one sealed and opening one. You'll have plenty of opportunity to grab one at one of the other retailers though. If you don't know how to track, you can always keep your ear to the subreddits and watch for updates, or do it the old fashioned way- check Target/BestBuy/Walmart/TRU websites every so often. Usually I'll keep a tab open for each website I'm monitoring and just refresh the page on my phone every so often.

Also, sign up for notifications on Amazon for when it comes back in stock. And it WILL come back in stock, might be closer to release when it happens (like a few weeks away from release), but they ALWAYS take a 2nd round due to cancellations and confirmed stock levels.